Justin Amash's claim that Trump sells American Troops is CONFIRMED

Attacking Nancy Pelosi and making up more threats to our embassies out of whole cloth weren't the only crazy things to come out of Trump's mouth during his softball interview with Fox's Laura Ingraham Friday night. Trump also told Ingraham that both Saudi Arabia and South Korea have deposited money into a "bank account" in exchange for more U.S. troops. Who this supposed "bank account" belongs to, he did not say.

Trump was rightfully taken to task on Twitter for the exchange by former Republican Rep. Justin Amash and others, who went after Trump for treating our troops like mercenaries, and would like to know, as I would, just where this money he's talking about was deposited.



Rep. Justin Amash Blasts Trump For ‘Selling’ American Troops To Saudis:


Conservative Rep. Justin Amash (I-Mich.) accused Donald Trump Saturday of “selling” American troops to Saudi Arabia after the president boasted that the nation has deposited $1 billion into a bank he did not identify for “more troops.”

“He sells troops,” Amash tersely noted in a tweet.

Other critics erupted on Twitter over a possible future in which U.S. soldiers could be sent as mercenaries to any high-bidding country to risk their lives, regardless of a nation’s ideology or rationale for fighting.

Others argued the country doesn’t deserve American support because of Saudi Arabia’s link to the vicious dismemberment and murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, who was writing at the time for The Washington Post. Some pointed out that most of the hijackers in the 9/11 attack were Saudis.

And some wondered exactly where the Saudi $1 billion is.

Trump clearly saw nothing wrong with the idea. “Listen, you’re a very rich country,” he told Saudi officials, Trump recounted on Fox News. “You want more troops? I’m going to send them to you, but you’ve got to pay us. They’re paying us. They’ve already deposited $1 billion in the bank.”

Here's more with the reaction on Twitter from their post and others:



He sells troops.

“We have a very good relationship with Saudi Arabia—I said, listen, you’re a very rich country. You want more troops? I’m going to send them to you, but you’ve got to pay us. They’re paying us. They’ve already deposited $1B in the bank.” pic.twitter.com/rc1f7heyCP


— Justin Amash (@justinamash) January 11, 2020



The US military is now a mercenary army for the country that sent the majority of hijackers to do 9/11.

— Brian Tyler Cohen (@briantylercohen) January 11, 2020



And sells morals. Don’t forget SA butchered a journalist, our intelligence agencies said it MBS, and trump ignored them.

— Nathaniel #CountryOverParty (@NewGopforUSA) January 11, 2020



He can’t sell what he doesn’t own. And he wouldn’t own our military if the co-equal congress demonstrated any ability or desire to hold him accountable. Elected and appointed GOP continue to enable and abet this man. They fail their oath of office.

— (((Howard Forman))) (@thehowie) January 11, 2020



How much of that $1B has been transferred into the bank accounts of Trump or his family? This is why we need to see ALL of their tax returns.

— JohnRJohnson (@JohnRJohnson) January 11, 2020



Yes. He treats our military like paid mercenaries, which in addition to being completely unAmerican, is also illegal. And who’s “bank account” is he talking about? Sounds like his own. All this guy does is break the law. visit this link https://t.co/RMjSZAxCyA

— Andrew Wortman (@AmoneyResists) January 11, 2020



If Saudi Arabia has paid US $1 billion for use of US military as mercenaries, that $$$ should go directly to the American people - healthcare, education, environmental cleanup & combatting climate change, infrastructure, etc. Where has it gone? Straight to Trump I’m sure.

— Empire Storm (@empirestatemind) January 11, 2020



Wonder if Saudi Arabia had a role in Trump breaking the Iran agreement and whose bank account that money would have ended in visit this link https://t.co/LaU0t8TVLP

— Olga Lautman (@olgaNYC1211) January 11, 2020



Trump bragged openly last night in a Fox News interview about taking oil from Syria that is not ours, and sending US troops as mercenaries to S Korea and Saudi Arabia, along with a series of lies. And it barely gets noticed. We are so far down the rabbit hole of authoritarianism.

— Amy Siskind 🏳️*🌈 (@Amy_Siskind) January 11, 2020



Trump offers up our US military as mercenaries for hire to the world's richest autocrats: “I said to Saudi Arabia...you're a very rich country. You want more troops? I'll send them to you, but you have to pay us. They've already deposited $1B 'in the bank.'”

Whose bank?? visit this link https://t.co/MSyFDYjNk3

— Polly Sigh (@dcpoll) January 11, 2020



Did anyone ask Trump officials about that missing one billion from Saudi Arabia in exchange for turning the US military into a mercenary force this morning?

Anyone?

— digby (@digby56) January 12, 2020